Recent Advances in Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for Cancer Theranostics: Emerging Strategies and Applications
摘要
Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) have become a useful nanomaterial that has numerous applications in the fields of radioimmunology, ferrotherapy, ferroptosis, biosensing, tissue engineering, and other aspects of biomedical research. They are extremely appealing as the basis of diagnostic and therapeutic innovations due to their natural superparamagnetic properties. Functionalization of surfaces is critically important in stability maintenance and magnetic properties and allows the introduction of bioactive moieties to facilitate targeted delivery. Magnetic 3D bioprinting involves the use of IONPs and superparamagnetic platforms to develop physiologically relevant three-dimensional (3D) models, e.g., C2C12 murine myoblast cells, which adds to the body of research on tissue engineering. IONPs provide a safer substitute to gadolinium-based contrast agents in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) due to their biocompatibility and ability to target in medical imaging. Recent progress in magnetic nanotechnology highlights IONP-based nanosystems as promising candidates in oncology, particularly for cancer hyperthermia, immunotherapy, ferroptosis-based therapies, and antiviral interventions. The advantages, limitations, and challenges of IONPs are critically assessed in this review, focusing on surface drug conjugation methodologies and their potential to transform cancer-targeted delivery systems.